St. James Church
From Salem Links and Lore
- St. James Church, located at 152 Federal Street, was built in 1891-1900, and reflects a Gothic Revival style. This massive brick and stone edifice is 178 feet in length, with a steep-pitched roof nave 98 feet tall.
- A corner tower with a spire roof, rising 200 feet above the sidewalk, was taken down in 1972.
- The parish's first church building was a wooden structure near the present one, built in 1850 and demolished in 1892.
- St. James parish was the second Catholic parish in Salem. The architect was Thomas F. Houghton, an Irish-American from Brooklyn who specialized in the design of Catholic churches.
- St. James parish ran a catholic school for years as well. The high school closed in 1971. The grammar school closed in 1972.
- In the spate of church closings in 2004, St. James was spared. Many of St. Joseph's parishioners joined St. James parish when their church closed in 2004.
- On August 1, 2017, the merger of Immaculate Conception and St. James Parish will take place. The new parish established will be named: Mary, Queen of the Apostles.
See Also
Vertical File in the Salem Collection - Churches
St. James Church: 150 years of faith in Salem, Massachusetts St. James Church, 2002.
St. James Church church website
Architecture in Salem by Bryant F. Tolles, p. 148-9
Golden Jubilee; the Right Reverend Monsignor Michael J. Coffey, 1897-1947 Program from Salem Armory Testimonial, Nov. 21, 1947.
"St. James Parish nearing centenary mark with golden anniversary of building..." Salem Evening News, Dec. 23, 1942, p. 13.
"The fight has just begun; St. James parishioners vow to save 150-year-old church." Salem News, March 22, 2004, p.A1
